Jacob “Jake” Hord Jr. called up a student’s mother to fetch his dog when the canine companion followed the boy to elementary school each day.

At the end of the year, the Gardner Park Elementary School principal gave that dog a perfect attendance award.

Hord, who dedicated more than 50 years in education, passed away Saturday at Gaston Memorial Hospital at the age of 79.

“I think that Jake Hord was a consummate educational leader,” said retired Gaston County Schools Superintendent Ed Sadler. “I believe Jake was the personification of what a principal or an administrator should look like.”

Hord served as a mentor to many educators, including Sadler.

“He did this in a quiet, unassuming way, always encouraging people to try to do better,” Sadler said. “Throughout my whole career, Jake was somewhere nearby.”

Hord became a teacher straight after graduating from Appalachian State University. He started his teaching career in 1955 at the old Wilson School in Gaston County, then taught at Ray Junior High. He became a principal at age 28 at the old East School, then became principal of Gardner Park Elementary in the winter of 1966, six months after it opened.

Hord remained a principal at Gardner Park Elementary for 28 years.

“He did morning announcements every year at Gardner Park. His saying was, ‘Take time to smell the flowers along the way,’” said Hord’s son, Tripp Hord. “Dad didn’t sweat the small stuff.”

Hord was transferred to Belmont Central Elementary and stayed there a year before retiring in 1992. He became head master of the lower school at Gaston Day School for four years before he became a facilities inspector at Gaston County Schools.

“I think they called him the dust bunny when he came around to check schools because he would wipe dust and say, ‘This is unacceptable,’” Tripp Hord said.

Hord understood the best ways that children learned and strove to surround himself with teachers who had the same philosophy of doing their best so children could do their best, Sadler said. Hord focused on research-based methods of teaching and learning before it was a focus in education.

As a facilities inspector, Hord had an eye for noticing how a school could be perceived from its outward appearance, Sadler said. He helped principals make their schools a place that was pleasing at first glance so others had a positive impression of the school.

“I think it didn’t really matter where Jake was or what he was doing,” Sadler said. “I think he was a consummate educator — hard working, genuinely concerned about what was best for children and the teachers he worked with.”

Retired educator and administrator Leon Moretz said a lot of principals looked up to Hord with admiration.

Page 2 of 2 - “He was at the top of his game always,” Moretz said. “Most of the time he was quiet, but that’s the kind of leader he was. He would be outspoken if he needed to be.”

Tripp Hord said his father dedicated his life to education and made an impact on thousands of teachers and students.

“Dad never yelled. He never got upset. And no matter what you did, he would pull you aside,” Tripp Hord said. “He was using positive reinforcement many years before it became popular.”

Hord had a healthy sense of humor. He’d also try things at school that might seem crazy, but they worked.

Tripp Hord said that his father installed a traffic signal at Gardner Park Elementary’s cafeteria to curb the lunchtime chatter. When the light was green, students were free to talk. When it turned yellow, students had to whisper. When the talking became too loud, Hord would flip the switch to red and students knew they had to eat in silence.

Hord treated his daughter Jamie Hord Smith and son Tripp the same way as his students and charged them to do their best. He taught them that they were put here on Earth to help others.

Tripp Hord, executive director at Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Gaston, recalled the last instructions his father gave him: “He told me, he said, ‘Tripp, take care of your boys, take care of your momma. And take care of your kids at the Boys and Girls Club.”

Hord also leaves behind his wife of 56 years, Mary Lou Patrick Hord, who said her husband was the most loving husband, father, grandfather and educator she’d ever known.

Hord’s dedication for Gardner Park is so deep that he chose his burial plot based on view of the school.

“Dad is going to be buried at the back of the cemetery at Gaston Memorial Park. He wanted to be able to say his final resting point was overlooking Gardner Park,” Tripp Hord said.

If a person stands in the spot where Hord will be buried, he can peer through the trees and see the roof of Gardner Park Elementary.

“Dad loved Gardner Park. He loved that community,” Tripp Hord said. “He was truly a man of strong faith and of God. He was put here on this Earth to help others.”

You can reach reporter Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839 or follow @AmandaMemrick on Twitter.